On March 31, 1994, the Wurlitzer 165 band organ, PTC #36, and much more in Seabreeze Park was destroyed by fire. The following months were occupied by park management deciding how to rebuild from the losses suffered, at the same time they had to prepare for the upcoming 1994 season opening. Two key decisions made were to replace PTC #36 with a hand-carved carousel that would make the park proud and to have it playing traditional band organ music.

Matthew Caulfield explains in this article the steps taken to build a new façade for the replica Wurlitzer 165 band organ delivered by Johnny Verbeeck in the summer of 1996.

The new unpainted façade was delivered to Seabreeze Park on February 3, 2011. After many hours of sanding and painting, a crew of the park’s mechanics and carpenters assembled in the carousel building to fit the façade to the Verbeeck organ on Wednesday, September 4, 2013. The band organ was ready to play in full dress when the park opened for the “Final Fling” on Saturday, September 7, 2013.

“Dan’s Desk”

Senior Editor and former publisher Daniel Horenberger gives a synopsis of the happenings and events at the various parks and upcoming auctions. He talks about the IAAPA industry show in Orlando, Florida. He goes on to give some thoughts about not planning an auction in the Chicago area in November. He tells about the San Francisco Looff carousel closing down. The predicted down time is nine months. Kings Island is looking to fill more than 4,000 seasonal jobs. He finally tells about the Barrett-Jackson auction featuring a 1922 Spillman carousel at the end of their Saturday session.

“NCA Convention”

The National Carousel Association convention in historic Leavenworth, Kansas, was billed as a time to celebrate the 100th year birthday of Carry-Us-All #118 and the 40th Anniversary of the NCA. It was a time to experience cowboys, carousels and the Wizard of Oz. All of these things came about, and the 115 attendees enjoyed every minute of it. Husband and wife team, Jerry and Marilyn Reinhardt, organized the entire event to the nth degree. They had a full contingent of helpers who assisted in making every part of the convention run like clockwork.

The continuing article also features “Special Moments” written by some of the attendees.

“Romke de Waard”

Tom Meijer explains that Romke de Waard (1919-2003) had a versatile life. He was a judge by profession. He was a member of the Council of State and chairman of the Council for Journalism. But above all he will be remembered for his important role in the preservation of the mechanical organ culture. He was involved in the development of both the Dutch organ society KDV and the Utrecht organ museum. In addition, he was a gifted arranger of book music for organs. In this article I will describe the musical activities of Romke de Waard.

“America’s Carousel Conservator, Returns Ruins to Glory”

Chas McNamara, editor, Tributary, conducts an interview with Will Morton who has spent half his life using his form of exploratory craftsmanship to reveal the character and history of the original craftsman’s work and then meticulously restore it. His museum-quality restoration techniques influenced carousel restoration across the nation. His original effort was the Kit Carson County Carousel in Burlington, Colorado, which he began restoring in 1978 and still visits for occasional maintenance work.

Originally manufactured by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company in the early 1900s, PTC No. 6, like many carousels, stopped spinning in the early 1930s due to the Great Depression, and other factors. The organ never made a sound again until the mid-1970s.

“Collecting Automatic Musical Instruments”

Q. David Bowers explains that Automatic musical instruments have been more of a focus for me, simply because the field is so large and so diverse, and items can easily be collected. I do like my Dentzel carousel giraffe, but I am afraid that I would have no room for a complete Dentzel carousel, if indeed one can be found. I have to satisfy myself with those owned by others. When my son Andrew was born on December 8, 1979, and came home from the hospital a few days later, one of the first “field trips” we had with him was to go to Griffith Park in Los Angeles. We held him and photographed him in the saddle of a galloping carousel horse while a Wurlitzer Style 165 band organ played.

The ongoing column will introduce and explain all types of automatic musical instruments from music boxes to dance organs.

Auction Results

Results from the Stanton’s Auction on November 21 – 23, 2013. A highlight being the Multiphone cylinder phonograph with final bid of $71,500.

Results from the Auction Team Brekker auction on November 15 – 16, 2013. A Frati & Co. pneumatic orchestrion had a final bid of $10,800.